


I Saw New Eyes Were Watching Me

by awesomecookies



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Atempt at horror, Demons, Eldritch, Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Halloween, Happy Ending, Horror, Humor, It's a little crack too, M/M, Monsters, Nightmares, Spooky, Test of Courage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27325273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awesomecookies/pseuds/awesomecookies
Summary: After the twelfth room down the hallway, Ash softly murmured. “Umm…maybe I am a little worried.”The group stopped in their tracks and looked at him with bewilderment. Ash being worried probably meant bad news. There was a pause between all of them, eyes darting across each other. Eiji was the first to speak up.“Are you Ash?”“Yes. I think we should hold hands.” He said with a deadpan voice. The answer made Shorter snicker and Sing groan. Eiji acted unfazed, however and continued to smile.“You can hold my hand too.” He offered which Ash took hesitantly.“Pfft. Pathetic.” Shorter grinned at his lovesick friend.“It’s for safety! It’s dark. Anyone can trip.” Ash defended.“Yeah right.” Sing stuck out his tongue.-A halloween fic and a BuzzFeed Unsolved fusion AU that i don't even know what to call. Just take it lmao
Relationships: Ash Lynx & Okumura Eiji, Ash Lynx & Shorter Wong, Ash Lynx & Sing Soo-Ling, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Okumura Eiji & Shorter Wong, Okumura Eiji & Sing Soo-Ling, Sing Soo-Ling & Shorter Wong
Comments: 19
Kudos: 104





	I Saw New Eyes Were Watching Me

**Author's Note:**

> I basically suck at writing horror. and this is late for halloween. And i wanted to make it like BuzzFeed Unsolved but I;m not good enough. The title is from Hozier's song "In the Woods Somewhere" Go listen to it if you can! Gives some real good ominous vibes.
> 
> It's spooky season everyday so take it anyway!

His bone exposed

His hind was lame

I raised a stone to end his pain

What caused the wound?

How large the teeth?

I saw new eyes were watching me

* * *

It was Halloween night where the trees had all lost their color and were on that stage of decay, and deep in the twisting buildings of the more abandoned side of the ever loud and living city of New York were four boys, planning nothing but mischief for the evening.

A mix of excitement, nervousness, and anxiety was buzzing in the cold air in the dead of the night. The buildings were no skyscrapers that swallow the lights from the sky and cover you with their shadows, but they were equally large facades that were dark and empty. 

Graffiti and vandalism covered the dark walls, along with fading paint, chipped off from age and time. Posters nearly decades old were plastered over there too, their age mingling and mixing into the same thing. If they were recent or decades ago, you never could tell at this point. Those faded faces looked at them, unidentifiable from the other. It was almost like those blank eyes were following them. 

Almost, if you let yourself think they did. 

"This is ridiculous, Shorter. This is the dumbest idea you've ever done. You really outdone yourself this time you dumbass. Why couldn’t we go to a normal Halloween party?" One of the boys said. Ash, the blond teen among them shivered and tucked his hands into his jacket's pockets. The autumn air was blowing a nice breeze. It brought dead leaves across the side walk where they crunched at their every step. 

"Oh shut up. I'm a genius and you know it. Nothing beats a Halloween night than a test of courage and imitating BuzzFeed Unsolved." His friend with the purple mohawk waved away, completely unbothered by his friend's displeasure. "By the way Eiji, thanks for coming over to help us with the camera." 

Said teen grinned at them with a big smile. His dark eyes blinked before he replied in a heavily accented English. "No problem. I always wanted to do what you Americans call 'ghost hunting.'" He held his camera with cheer. 

"Oh no not you too Eiji! I can't believe you also think this is a great idea!" Ash spluttered at them. 

"Dude, my ideas are always great!" Shorter huffed. 

Ash rolled his eyes and gave him a ridiculously unimpressed look. Like those that mothers have their children when they obviously try to make up things to get out of trouble. "I saw you eat a sandwich off the ground."

"And your point is?"

Eiji laughed, the sound a little high pitched and halting. "You guys are so funny. But I also do not think it is a good idea Ash. Do not worry." His eyes crinkled in amusement. 

Ash flushed. "Then why are you here?"

"I came here to see Shorter embarrass himself in front of a camera." Eiji snickered, waving the camera to prove his point. Ash broke into a short burst of laughter while Shorter pouted.

"Oh wow that's mean. I thought you were kind!" He crossed his arms. 

"Whatever I still think this is a bad idea." Ash insisted. 

"You can always go home Ash. I think we can do this ourselves." Eiji continued to smile, wide and full of teeth. 

"Yeah Ash, why are you here?" Shorter snorted.

"You're the dumbass that invited me!" Ash growled at him. "Heck, you didn't invite me. You forced me!"

Shorter gave him an incredulous stare that was also tinged with amusement. His brows were raised and his lips quirked with a disbelief. "And I thought you told me to fuck off but when I mentioned Eiji was coming--"

Ash hissed, eyes darting towards Eiji before going back to Shorter. "Look! Someone needs to look after your careless ass alright? I don't want you dying or getting arrested because of how irresponsible you are."

Shorter cackled at the panic in Ash's face. He thought he was being subtle, but everyone knew. Save except for Eiji himself. "Oh wow I am touched. You do love me." He decided to tease him. 

"Well then, why is Sing here? He’s a fucking scaredy cat. Kid’s gonna piss his pants" Ash directed his grumpiness towards the youngest member of the group. 

"Because unlike you, I actually came here for Shorter and the ghosts." The youngest of the group snapped at Ash. Sing was trailing behind Shorter, wrapped around in a thick winter coat and scarf. He was more coat than body. Half his face peeked from under all the warmth. His eyes were glaring at the older teen.

Ash rolled his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're obviously here for some dick." Sing stuck out his tongue before marching off. That made Ash splutter in shock. The boy had some serious attitude.

"What a crass twelve year old."

There was an indignant squawk from Sing. "I'm fourteen!"

"Same thing." Ash huffed. Kids these days, Ash thought. Shorter and Eiji found it funny, considering Ash was only about three years older than Sing and was the second youngest in the group. But in to Ash, even if Shorter said he was the oldest, he was one of the most immature among them all so Ash thought it was all bullshit anyway.

Eiji found all of this ridiculously amusing. Americans were so different from all the other humans he met. They were very loud and obnoxious, very interesting. "You Americans are so rowdy." He laughed again as they arrived at their destination. Shorter grunted as he heaved at the metal door. Eiji walked beside him to help and tore it open for them all.

“Cool we got it open. Come on.”

The group entered the abandoned building. It was old and empty. The sound of their steps against the cemented floor echoed around the walls. There was thrill in doing something that they weren’t supposed to, in doing something forbidden, illegal. There was also a different kind of thrill at doing something potentially dangerous and scary.

It didn’t help that it was dark, nor that the place was so big, and so cold from the autumn chill. It made them shiver, perhaps from it, or perhaps from something else.

“So. Camera.” Shorter said. “Let’s see if we can document our stay here, show it in Arthur’s prissy face that we can do this.” Their only source of light was from their flashlight which he held. They used it to scan the place and see where they were going.

“Already rolling.” Eiji confirmed.

“See that Arthur? We’re not a bunch of pussies like you. I’m willing to bet that you’ll wet your pants the moment you step inside.” Shorter cackled.

“If he even manages to step inside.” Ash added with a snicker. They all chuckled. Nobody liked Arthur. That was a fact.

It was a winding hallway, a corridor stretching forward, The building was mostly made up of corridors. Ash suspected, this was meant to be one of those cheap apartments. Something a little like The Shining. Just when they reached a bit of a distance from the door, Shorter started to talk.

"Okay so this is an old abandoned building that used to house a couple of homeless guys. Apparently there's a lot of people who died here in the 60's-90's, especially when gang wars were all over the place." He said this to the camera. He flashed light all over the walls where the wallpaper were peeled off or ripped away to a point of no repair.

"That's a lot of graffiti." Sing piped up at the mangled state of the walls. There were varying degrees of vandalism. Indiscernible words and gibberish, some legible yet broken from sentences, random ones that made no sense. Some looked like paint splatters, some had handprints on them. Some may not even be paint at all.

"There were a lot of killings back then." Ash examined the suspicious stains. Maybe they were dampness from a leaking pipe, maybe they were paint, maybe there were something else. The smell of the air was also different. It was not outright rancid, but it was not fragrant either. It was quite musty in fact, a little stale. It smelled like your grandmother’s closet without the fond memories of your grandmother, filled with moths and mothballs, like pests had long taken shelter of it and some had already long died.

The hallway stretched and stretched. There were no signs of furniture, but there were traces of them being present. If they were stolen or stored away, no one would know. But all there was were impressions of what was there, of what was had once been. Ghosts 

“This is creepy man." Sing murmured among them. "This is creepy." The temperature dropped some more and since there were no electricity or heating, there wasn't much the could do about it. He hugged himself despite the layers he was already in.

When they've cleared out the first level, they started to climb on the staircase. The wooden steps groaned at every time they walked on it. It moaned softly at their weight. The floorboards creaked. It was dangerous, like it could give away anytime. 

The windows were large, and yet some of them were boarded up. Some had newspapers pasted over the glass, to cover the place from the outside, or maybe the other way around. It made the room darker, and yet it didn't stop the room from the freezing temperatures.

"Did you feel that?!" Sing yelped. 

"It's just the wind Sing." Ash deadpanned, visibly tired. 

Sing insisted anyway. "That did not feel like the wind. I don't like this at all. It's so creepy. Shit man, this is a bad idea." He was sure he felt a gossamer's touch. A shiver ran down his spine, a phantom of a caress. It definitely felt like something else and not just the wind.

Ash rolled his eyes. "Now you think it's a bad idea."

"It could be something." Shorter piped up. "Some guys used this place for a shootout too. Rumors claimed you can hear footsteps and guns cocking at some point of the night, the ghosts still looking for blood. Some commuters swore sometimes ghosts trick them into seeing people overlooking the windows. Sometimes they hear screaming and sobbing before they snap out of it. One was sure they heard a gun firing."

"Pfft." Ash crossed his arms. The darkness concealed the most of his face, yet his eyes twinkled with amusement. 

“What’s that ‘pfft’ for?” Shorter raised a brow. 

“Look man, people’s brains make up the stupidest shit. It’s dark. You don’t see stuff. The brain instills images and rhetoric to fill the gap as a fight or flight system. There’s no ghosts here.” Ash eyed the unkempt place. There was obviously a logical explanation for these things. There were scratches on the threadbare carpet, most which were probably done by stray cats or dogs. It was a trick of the mind, and if you don't believe in it, he was sure it'll disappear. 

Shorter hummed, obviously miffed at Ash's non-belief. “Well maybe not ghosts. Maybe there are demons lurking in.” He pointed his light on his face, waggling his brows. Just as he said it, lighting stuck from outside and thunder crashed from the sky, illuminating the room for a fraction. Sing swore he saw a couple of sinister shaped shadows lurking in the corners, perhaps even additional eyes staring at them.

“Shorter don’t scare us like that.” Sing whispered, sure that they were being watched by something otherworldly.

“Ugh this is stupid.”

Shorter only grinned wider. He cackled heartily, thinking all of this was a game. He often made things a game, it’s what made him fun and insufferable at the same time. “Well, who knows if there are demons? Hey demons! Come out wherever you are. Demons? It’s me, ya boi. Shorter Wong!”

“Shorter, what the fuck are you doing? Don’t taunt them like that!” Sing hissed, eyes darting around for any sign of movement from the shadows.

“I agree Shorter, I do not think they would like that.” Eiji gave him a soft chiding from behind the camera.

Shorter looked up from the camera’s lenses and up to meet Eiji’s dark eyes which were only dots of twinkles left under the dark. “Are you getting scared Eiji?”

He shook his head, still smiling. “Not at all. I am having fun actually. What about you Ash?”

A scoff from the teen. “There’s nothing to be scared about at all! Sing over there is scared though.” He pointed at him with his thumb.

“I’m not scared!” He spluttered. But he was. He could feel all manners of wrongness in this place, an ominous air he could not place.

 _“_ So you don’t mind us splitting up to cover more ground?” Ash was smirking as he taunted the boy. Sing did not appreciate it at all.

“Sh-shut up!”

Eiji offered with a palm open. “That is okay Sing. You can hold my hand if you are scared.”

“No thank you!” Sing huffed, but after awhile, he took Eiji’s hand anyway. The latter beamed as they walked in silence among the rooms, checking out the apartments extending to the end of the hallway. Some still had beds, and moth eaten couches. Some even had curtains dancing from the blow of the wind.

There were the sound of crickets all over the room. It was the only sound in the room other than their constant footsteps and their breaths.

After the twelfth room down the hallway, Ash softly murmured. “Umm…maybe I am a little worried.”

The group stopped in their tracks and looked at him with bewilderment. Ash being worried probably meant bad news. There was a pause between all of them, eyes darting across each other. Eiji was the first to speak up.

“Are you Ash?”

“Yes. I think we should hold hands.” He said with a deadpan voice. The answer made Shorter snicker and Sing groan. Eiji acted unfazed, however and continued to smile.

“You can hold my hand too.” He offered which Ash took hesitantly.

“Pfft. Pathetic.” Shorter grinned at his lovesick friend.

“It’s for safety! It’s dark. Anyone can trip.” Ash defended.

“Yeah right.” Sing stuck out his tongue. There was no subtlety in Ash’s fiber. Unfortunately, Eiji just seemed utterly oblivious, or he was merely indulging Ash despite not interested at all.

“So this is the heightened place of paranormal activity.” Shorter waved at them when they reached the last room down the hall. It was quite spacious, a couple of abandoned posters were on the walls very much like what was outside. It was such an untidy place, filled with litter and dust. So filthy and probably filled with vermin. You could hear the squeaking of some mice and the pat pat pat pat of their tiny claws.

Eiji wrinkled his nose.

“Some dude was shot to death in that very bed.” Shorter pointed at the piece of furniture. “Their soul might still be here. Let’s communicate with them.” He produced a recorder-like machine and pressed the button to play. It screeched and beeped, much like an old radio. The static was shrill to their ears, looking for a signal, or something.

They waited and waited, but all they can hear was the unfriendly scratches and beeping of the thing.

"This is broken." Ash glared at the noise making object. “It’s fake.”

"No it's authentic." Shorter waved it around the room.

"Well it keeps beeping like crazy."

"That's because it's working. That means there's a lot of ghosts in here. That's weird though. It says it's very close." Shorter kept reaching up, looking for the source. He pointed it randomly among them, the beep grew louder and louder.

"Dude it’s broken. It's beeping too much near Eiji." Sing watched in horror.

"Hm. That can't be right." Shorter craned his neck behind Eiji. It quieted when drawn away.

Eiji, was taking all of this calmly. "Is the ghost is near me?" He asked, still rolling the camera towards wherever Shorter was.

"It's probably the frequency interference from your camera or something. Don't worry Eiji, ghosts aren't real. You don't need to be scared. This idiot is the one who should be scared after I knock him out for all this trouble." Ash momentarily let go of Eiji’s hand to rub at his temples.

"Oh always the skeptic."

"I do not think that paranormal activity are real though." Eiji explained.

Ash smirked. "See Shorter? He's on my side. It's all in your head."

Eiji shook his head at this, amused. "Just because it is not real does not mean it is all in your head."

"Dude, you gotta make up your mind. Vague statements like that are creepy." Sing shuddered.

“Let’s move on then.” Shorter turned off the device and pocketed it. He opened the door which groaned with a loud creek and ushered them to the hallway. “Some of the people who came here cited that they often heard balls bouncing from the distance. Some even say that they can hear a kid's giggles." 

"That's probably in their imagination." Ash groaned.

"Again, a skeptic. He's a kid that was caught in the crossfire of the shootings. Luckily, I bought a ball to let our little friend to play with so he doesn't get bored.” Shorter hummed while he reached for a red rubber ball from his jacket’s pocket. “Sing you do it."

Sing moaned. "Why me? Fuck man, I'm not doing that." 

"You have the best throw among us."

"Now that's just bullshit." Sing was not amused with Shorter’s excuse. He obviously wanted to toy with him a little.

"Oh Sing, you scaredy cat." Ash joined in the taunting.

"Ash, I think I remember you crying over the pumpkin decors the other day." Eiji kept a smile on his face. “You were about to cry when we passed them awhile ago.”

"Eiji!"

"Sing, I can throw it if you want to. You must be ready scared." Eiji ignored Ash’s protests and offered his help once again.

"No I'm okay Eiji. Gimme that! Hey spirits here's some nice ball to play with! Catch!"

The ball whizzed towards the distance, swallowed by the darkness till the only proof of its existence were the constant thump against the carpeted floor. It thudded and bounced back, shorter and shorter, weaker and weaker, softer and softer.

"You think he got it?"

A loud thud echoed across the hallway before it went back to fading away.

"I think I heard a couple of extra bounces." Shorter said. "Should we check it out?"

With nothing else to do, the group moved to the direction which Sing threw the ball to. It was at some distance. They scanned the walls and the floor for any sign of the red thing. There were more graffiti here, lines of gibberish and some random names in red, black and neon paint.

Sing stopped dead on his tracks.

"Oh fuck no. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fucking hell. No way man. No way! That ball literally rolled under a graffiti of my name!"

They found the red ball on a peculiar corner of a room. How it got there was a mystery, almost a physics defying thing. It was immediately a large red name painted on the wall that said:

SING

"I guess the spirit wants to be your friend."

"Eiji!" Sing was distressed.

"Look, your name is such a fucking common word. Don't make a big deal out of it."

"Roll it again." Shorter suggested.

But Sing was taking none of that. "Nah man. Nuh-uh. No way." 

"Maybe we should make contact." Shorter pulled out his device again.

"Dude!" 

“Oh geez here were again.”

Shorter chortled, still having fun. “Apparently a gang leader was also killed here back in the day. He was stabbed in one of the fights.” As he turned on the device, the static of the device was harsher. Sing covered his ears at the shrill sounds, the beeping even more intense. At every direction, the sound remained constant. It was everywhere.

“That’s a very bad idea man.” Sing whispered.

Ash on the other hand was still doubtful. “It’s not going to work.”

"We're contacting the spirits." Shorter crooned.

"Go for it." 

"Eiji, stop enabling him." Ash sighed.

Shorter looked around, trying to find where he might get the strongest feedback. “Hey spirit! I heard you got stabbed? If you wanna make contact say something.”

A beat.

A second.

Nothing.

….

“I’m Shorter Wong! Can you say my name? Come on say Shorter Wong. Demon? Come out wherever you are.” They waited once again for a response.

Eiji clicked his tongue. “Shorter I think it is not a good idea to say your full name to the demons.”

Ash tapped his foot impatiently. “We are wasting our time here.”

Still nothing.

The group looked around the room, waiting. Static and beeping. Static and beeping. The shrill was so stark against the haunting silence, the cavernous echo. They waited.

And waited.

And waited.

….

….

….

“—out—“

They all stood stiff in attention, hair going up their skins. Goosebumps ran across Sing’s flesh. “….Did you guys hear that?”

“—et out—“

“Shit! I think I do.” Shorter exclaimed, excited and horrified.

“Those are interference from radio signals. It doesn’t prove anything.” Ash frowned, but he tensed up just in case.

“Please speak louder. One more time please.” Shorter called louder.

Suddenly a couple of different voices mingled in the device, half-finished words, half-baked thoughts, incomplete sentences nearly incoherent and incomprehensible. Different voices, different tones, different pitches, different octave. Some sounded rich, some sounded like sandpaper, some were forks scratched on the plate, nails on the chalk. Some were like radio broadcasters. Some were simply unfathomable.

“—out. G—et out.”

“ _Help._ ”

“Did you hear help?” Shorter asked the others, confirming what he heard.

“Oh man this is not fucking funny.” Sing whimpered.

“Spirits, who am I speaking to? What do you want?” Shorter called again and waited for an answer.

The voices changed before they could finish, overlapping with one another, cut off, broken into nonsensical hisses. There's urgency, as if it was in warning. 

“—away—stay-away—“

The voice was hoarse, raspy. It was eerie.

“ _He’s n—t—like you.”_

Another one whispered in anguish. It's voice was all in pain, it made your very bones rattle inside you. 

“—not one of you—“

This was hardly a whisper. 

All of them continued to repeat over and over, until one deep voice grated over their ears.

“ **Demon.** ”

One word and the voices vanished as if they never were, as if they never been. 

The group looked at each other, too stunned to make a sound. The deathly stillness was more evident, more suffocating.

“Man what the fuck does that mean? What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck?” Sing grasped at his hair. 

“Spirits?”

There was deafening silence. The hair in their skin stood from tension. They waited. And waited. And waited. And then...

…

…

…

“ _Its here._ ”

A voice murmured in the cold air. With that, everything was back to the static and the beeping, taking a vow of silence. Never speaking again. 

“Did it break?” Eiji hummed curiously. 

Sing frantically rubbed his arms. He was already shivering nonstop. “Holy shit man. I don’t wanna do that anymore.”

But Shorter tried again, unwilling to give up easily. 

“Is there a demon in our presence?”

Nothing. 

There were no more words for them. No warnings. No messages. Just the static. 

“Well that was anticlimactic. Make sure to fix your radio.” Ash snapped. 

“It’s not a radio. It’s a device to communicate with the spirits.” Shorter frowned. The sound of scratching startled them, making him nearly drop the device. He quickly pocketed it just in case. The scratches only got louder, deeper. Shorter followed the sound with his flashlight. The ceiling was in ruins. Scratch marks marred the wood above. 

Ash crossed his arms. “Well, are you actually gonna believe there’s a demon here?”

“Maybe?” Shorter squinted at the large marks. Only something that was big enough could possibly do that. "Those weren't there before, were they?" 

Sing shuddered. “Maybe we should leave.”

“I am having fun though!” Eiji grinned as he stared at further evidence of scratching. 

Ash shook his head. “Only you Eiji. Japanese people are weird.”

"Actually, we're sleeping here overnight so we can’t really leave." Shorter pointed out, while he investigated at the ceiling some more. They seemed to be going to a certain direction. He asked them to follow the trail with him. 

"Why the fuck did you think this was a good idea?" Sing did not like how the scratches became more violent as they went deeper. It all screamed bad news.

“It is just like a sleep over!" Eiji shared Shorter's enthusiasm, his face back to smiling in amusement.

“This is fucking insane.” 

“Get used to it kid. Your big brother has always been insane.” Ash trudged along anyway. 

“I guess it's leading us to the most haunted room in the building." Shorter explained while they climbed up the steps to the next floor. "The third floor bedroom apparently had someone who died from OD and his partner who killed himself shortly afterwards.”

“That is terrible.” Eiji hummed along. 

“You know it gets worse. Apparently they were on a drug binge, and the guy OD’d in his sleep. They were in the same bed and everything, and it took his partner hours before he realized his partner was already dead. He basically slept next to a corpse for roughly twelve hours.” Shorter continued his story. If it was fact or fiction, they weren't really sure. He wanted to think it was true though.

“Creepy.” 

“That’s hardcore disturbing and very Edgar Allan Poe-esque.” Ash quipped in, remembering Anabelle Lee. 

“Yeah, no kidding. Imagine hugging the cold corpse of your lover and waking up in the morning to find them dead. You might even try shaking them awake and not get a response. Imagine if that happens.” 

Ash laughed. “Eiji sleeps like the dead.”

“Ash does too. Very hard to wake up.” Eiji responded solemnly. 

“Have you slept together?”

“Just once! And I mean in the same bed not…you know…” Ash flushed to the tip of his ears. It was dark, but Shorter knew. 

“Imagine rolling out of bed and seeing Ash dead.” Shorter snickered.

But Eiji didn't smile at this. “I rather would not think of that if it was possible.”

“Ash…why am I the only one talking?”

“Oh my god Shorter! Foul! Foul!” Sing squawked. 

“That’s too early man.” Ash clicked his tongue. 

“Oh come on!” Shorter pouted. They walked silently towards the room down the hall. The air here was even mustier than the floor below them. This time, it smelled of dirt and soil as well. Like petrichor despite them being indoors. It was a peculiar scent. “So anyway. Here we are. I think you can see there’s where the dude hung himself. They also said, that none of them died from OD or hanging, but some demon compelled them to do it.”

Shorter pointed at the metal beam up the ceiling. It must have been an old pipe or something like that. It was rotting and rusty now and probably could not support the dead weight of a corpse. The room itself was peculiar. It felt bigger than it actually was, as if those corners had more within them, as if those shadows were holes to an even bigger place.

“Oh yes, blame Satan for all the problems in the world. Way to sound like a conservative Christian.” Ash looked around the room for more details. It was a really old room. It also smelled burnt in here. Something smokey. Something must have caught on fire here long ago there were charred black soot on some part of the wall.

“Maybe there’s a demon here this time. Demon! You wanna come and possess one of us?” Shorter waved the flashlight around the room. He looked up the ceiling and found that the whole wood up there was burnt black. "I dunno about you Ash. That looks pretty demonic to me." 

“There’s no demon here.” Ash insisted. 

“They do live in places with many deaths. It must have fed off on their energy.” Shorter ignored him.“ Demon. If you can hear us, make your presence known. Make shit float or something. Maybe flicker the lights like some cliché.”

Again, they waited and looked around. There was nothing.

"See? No demon--shit!" 

“Oh god! It turned off! The flashlight turned off! Put it back on!” Sing yelled at the two while Ash grabbed the flashlight from Shorter's hands. There was too much darkness and too little light. The windows were all boarded up so not even the moon can help them.

“That didn’t prove anything. The batteries must have ran out.” Ash snapped at Sing. He ripped the flashlight open for the batteries.

“Those were just fresh ones!” Sing told him. He was the one who changed them just this morning. 

There were soft pitter-patters on the floor, the sound not at all subtle, like claws on the boards, something bigger than rats. It was creeping all over the room. 

“Change them quickly!” Sing urged them before the pitter patter grew louder. 

“I already did. I guess the flashlight itself broke.” Ash growled. 

"Something brushed up my leg." Shorter hissed under his breath and Sing gave a little shriek.

Eiji grabbed the flashlight from Ash's hold. “Let me—there.”

The light was instantly back. Eiji scanned the room for the source of the dainty footsteps. Each corners of the room was clear. Even the ceiling. And then--

"A cat." Ash deadpanned. “All of you got scared of a cat.”

“Huh.” Shorter stared. The black feline sat in front of them with sobering calm. It looked at them uncannily, not making a sound, not even a movement. It did not meow. Its green eyes were almost glowing under the dim room. The more it stared at them, the more unsettling it was. It looked like it was waiting for something.

“Looks pretty demonic to me. Why don’t we try talking to them? Okay demon. I’m turning on my device now. You can communicate if you want to.” Shorter pointed it to the cat. It stared. And it stared. And it stared. And it continued to stare, waiting and waiting and waiting.

“Well that sounds promising.” Shorter said just as the feline blinked curiously. It was apparent that it was not moving. “So! We’re sleeping here.” He declared, which was met with protests.

“Here?!”

"You've gotta be kidding me." Ash glanced at the cat which…was suddenly gone. That wasn’t so comforting.

"I think it is best to sleep on the other room from down the hallway. Windows too big. Too drafty for me." Eiji explained.

“The windows are boarded up though?” Shorter glanced at the windows which, strangely enough were no longer boarded up. It was wide open, billowing wind inside. You’d think they would notice that. He swore it was boarded up. The sky once again crashed with lighting and thunder, the light made Eiji’s beady black eyes shine. The dim light reflected in them enough to make them as a pair of dark dots staring down Shorter.

“I said,” Eiji smiled wider, this time with pearly white teeth. “It’s too drafty.”

Lightning and thunder once more crashed before a downpour of rain came from the outside.

"Guys let's listen to Eiji." Sing murmured, taking any chances to be anywhere else but this room.

Ash didn’t know how to make sense of what was happening before them. "I agree. We should listen to Eiji."

Eiji continued to stare at Shorter, Shorter stared back.

"You guys are a bunch of pussies." Shorter finally relented.

Eiji blinked and smiled. "It is just drafty. I cannot sleep comfortably."

"Right. Let’s go somewhere else and set up camp then.” Shorter trudged out of the room. “I’m getting kinda tired.”

They decided on a room from the second floor with good windows to protect them from the storm. The windows were not exactly boarded up, but they were covered with posters of old forgotten rock bands and newspapers and advertisements. If you stare at the blank smiles of the faded paper, it’ll almost feel like they would blink back at you.

"So, sleeping." Shorter sighed while he was wrapped in his own sleeping bag, staring at the cracks of the ceiling. There were unmistakable pitter-patter above them as well. The only source of light was the battery operated lamp they brought.

"Should we take turns keeping watch?" Sing looked unsettled. He scanned the room for anything else that could possibly crawl towards a sleeping body. If it was bugs, animals, or something else, he didn’t even care anymore.

"Kid, nothing's going to happen. Let's go to sleep." Ash heaved his own sleeping bag.

"I will keep the camera rolling." Eiji set up the camera to watch them. He then settled into sleep, wrapping himself in a blanket and a neck pillow. A blindfold was on his hand. He looked exactly like how you would when you would when you camped outside.

"Is this place taken?" Ash asked Eiji.

"Yes dumbass. It's taken by me." Sing grumbled.

Ash did not paid his words mind. "Move aside Sing, I'm sleeping there."

"Just say you're a simp and go. I'm not moving for your pining ass." Sing burrowed into his sleeping bag just to prove a point.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." Ash pulled Sing out of lying down.

"Oh yeah great. As if that's very believable." Shorter snickered from the other side. Eiji simply laughed.

"My other side is still free Ash. It has enough space." Eiji scooted, offering the space freely. That immediately ended the roughhousing.

"Alright." Ash contentedly and laid beside Eiji.

"Tch. Dumbass." Sing rolled his eyes before turning on his side to avoid looking at the two.

"Shut up."

"It is time to sleep." Eiji declared.

"Alright. Goodnight." Shorter chirped.

"Night." Ash grunted halfheartedly.

" _Oyasumi_."

...

...

…

"Psst. Are any of you asleep?"

"Go to sleep Shorter."

"I'm still awake."

"Yeah no shit. Let me sleep."

It shouldn’t have surprised them that they didn’t last long in the silence. It was too disquieting to be in so much darkness and quiet, in an unfamiliar place with scratching noises occasionally coming up. Now they were also accompanied with bumps and crashes from the other rooms.

"Eiji are you asleep?” Ash whispered.

There was no answer. No movement. Not even the rise and fall of his chest.

"I guess he is." Shorter observed.

“He sleeps so still. It’s like he’s not even breathing.” Sing got up and stared at the limp figure. He could pass of as a wax statue, or a marble sculpture.

“What the fuck Sing?”

“Look, everything is just so unsettling here.” Sing shivered. It was probably below freezing temperature her. He was shivering nonstop ever since.

There were more bumps and crashes now, scratching and high pitched shrieking, like an animal in pain.

“What was that?” Sing waited for the noises to stop. It never did. Now there was rattling and rumbling from upstairs.

“Let’ go check it.” Shorter whispered excitedly.

“It’s probably rats that knocked stuff over.” Ash grumbled. Everything had a logical explanation. Everything had a realistic cause.

“I dunno know man, maybe we should see to it anyway.” Shorter stared at the ceiling, dusts were falling down. “Just in case.”

“It’s just raccoons having sex in the attic. Go back to sleep.” Ash wormed into his bag, face already mushed with his pillow.

“That’s a lot of scratching and wailing I’m hearing. And I was sure there’s no attic in here.”

Ash got up and looked Shorter in the eye, glaring. He said it haltingly. “Ra-coon-sex.” Every syllable was parted from each other, making sure to convey his annoyance at every letter. The scratching and the sounds suddenly stopped. Ash gave them all a pointed look.

“Alright. Jesus.”

With that, Shorter went back to lying down. He blinked slowly, willing his eyes to close, for his mind to stay still. His breath was starting to become rhythmic. He was entering that boneless state of mind, like floating away in the darkness, into the realm of dreaming—

"Hey! Shorter. Wake up! Eiji's gone!"

"Wha--?" He was jolted awake by a shake on his shoulder, a frantic Ash greeted him in the dark.

"He's gone. When I woke up he's not next to me anymore." He continued, looking distressed. This was the most distressed he was in the whole night.

Shorter rubbed his face, reasoning. "Maybe he went for a piss? Go to sleep man."

Ash got up from crouching next to him. "It's been half an hour. Maybe something happened to him." He paced around the room. “Something might have happened to him.”

"Now you believe in ghosts." Shorter sighed.

"I still don't! But what if he fell in a hole or something? Sprained his ankle? Or some rats scared him. He's afraid of rats Shorter! And the flashlight is still here! He didn't take any flashlight!" Ash pointed at the flashlight next to them. They didn’t have any other brought with them.

He being away for more than thirty minutes was bad news. Something could have happened to him while they were asleep. "Okay fine. Let's look for him. Let me wake Sing."

"No, he'll get scared and slow us down. We can go real quick and get back." Ash hissed in hushed whispers. "If Sing wakes up and find us gone, he's going to get scared and panic."

Shorter looked at the sleeping figure in the bag. Ash had a point. It might slow them down.

"It'll be quick. Come on." Ash insisted.

He looked back at Ash’s worried face.

"Right. Let me get the camera."

* * *

"Eiji?' 

"Dude where are you?"

"Eiji are you alright? Yell back if you can."

They walked down the dark hallways. It could be just their imagination, but somehow it felt narrower and more suffocating than the last time they walked here. It stretched and stretched beyond them. It felt like they’ve been walking far more than they used to, as if time or space itself dilated. The end was simply farther than it used to be.

The stairs went on and on too. It was like walking up on an escalator going downward, and yet when they looked down to check, the space did not move beneath their feet.

“It’s probably an illusion.” Ash muttered to himself. Yes, an illusion. And if he thought of this logically, they would see that nothing was actually amiss and all of it was in their head. It almost felt futile, but at some point they reached their destination.

They explored the third floor, calling once again for Eiji. There was a stronger scent of the earth now. Something mixed with the rain, with the mud, the dirt. It smelled like moth balls and termites, of bugs and the soil. It did not smell like it belonged here. The walls continued to stretch. The wind was damp. It felt damp, and not because of the rain. There was the sound of something indescribable as well.

"Did you hear that?" Shorter muttered.

Voices. Different voices. Different pitches. Different whispers. Foreboding. Warning. Ominous. Urgent. Pleading. They came in different ages, different genders. Different. Different. Different. Different.

"That wasn't you? I thought you were just murmuring under your breath!" Ash’s eyes darted around the hallway, but there was nothing. It was empty save for the two of them.

"It's getting louder." Shorter warned. They were no longer whispers. They turned to wailings and sobbing. They sounded in anguish. They sounded like they were seeking help, desperate.

"Probably the wind. Or rats."

"Rats don't sound like demonic chanting, man." 

"That's not demonic chanting." Ash’s breath started to quicken.

"Says who?" Shorter’s heartbeat was getting too loud, blood rushed in his ears. "Those were some scratching on the wood."

"It's a cat." Ash insisted. He wanted to shut his eyes and think, but he did not dare close them, afraid of what he might find once he open them back.

"Those were really deep scratching." The scratches were no longer light. It dug deep in the wood. It broke flesh. It dragged its claws wherever it was. It was angry. The ends of their hair prickled. The unsettling feeling of eyes upon them grazed all over their skin. They felt naked under whatever watchful eyes’ scrutiny.

There was creaking on the floor. The walls were suffocating. The creaking grew louder, but silence was not preferable either.

"I don't like this Ash." The creaking was closer now too. Closer. Closer Closer.

"Shit!"

The flashlight lost its brightness. Their source of sight was instantly snuffed out. They were vulnerable to the darkness….and whatever creature was lurking within it.

"Turn the damn thing on." Shorter hissed.

"I'm telling you, the flashlight is broken." Ash slammed his hand on the flashlight, shaking it back into working, but to no avail.

"Oh fuck, you've gotta be kidding me." Shorter groaned.

"Those are footsteps. It's coming towards us." They weren’t heavy. Just a pair of normal weighted footsteps. It sounded like it belonged to one person. It was coming to their direction.

"Eiji?"

They couldn’t make anything in the darkness, but Shorter remembered that the camera had night vision. He gingerly looked through the screen of the DSLR, peering through the scene and the upcoming dark figure. It was—

"Guys! What the fuck?"

"Sing?" 

The boy frowned at them, looking just as scared, if not more as them. He was literally shaking and possibly pale.

"Why the fuck did you leave me?!" He hissed, probably too nervous to scream.

"It's been an hour. We still haven't found Eiji. He didn't return to the room, did he?" Ash whispered back, even more worried.

"Eiji isn't with you guys?" Sing craned around, as if the Japanese’s figure would suddenly appear behind them.

"Shit, maybe something did happen to him." Shorter said just as a loud, piercing scream reverberated across the hallways. It was shrill, full of torment, full of pain. It grated on their ears.

"Who was that? Maybe it was Eiji come on."

They ran to the direction of the scream straightway blindly in the pitch dark. Another shriek. And another. And another. And another. They came longer and longer than last time. There was sobbing this time too.

"Oh no. It can't be." Sing’s breath hitched at where the sounds came from. But really, should they be surprised?

"This is the demon room." Shorter swallowed hard. His mouth was suddenly dry.

"Eiji?" Ash called out. He yelled his name in the darkness.

"Eiji are you there? Please say something!" Sing pressed a hand on his mouth. 

Shorter looked through the lens of the camera, the night vision giving him an image from the inside of the room. "There's no one up ahead." The screen revealed a desolate place. No Eiji. Nothing.

"Those are footsteps though. The floor is creaking."

"Wait. Our phones have flashlights." Ash turned on his phone and flashed the small light coming from it. It was dimmer than a flashlight, but it gave them something at least.

"There's no one in the camera I swear."

But there was a figure. It had no shadows. It was made of shadow itself.

"Eiji?"

"Eiji? What--"

It was not Eiji. Just a figure made of shadow that took Eiji’s form. It was waxy. It looked like it was made of dough left to rise and yet forgotten. It looked like flesh, or something not quite like it. It had form but it did not quite look human. It had black glass eyes, like that of an old rag doll, or a stuffed toy bear. It was obviously sown on its face, the threads were loose.

It had no nose. It had no mouth. It was pale. It was trying to pass as human but could not. This was nothing like they’ve ever seen before, whatever this was. It had them all frozen in place.

Then the creature moved. It stretched its neck and limbs. It was now towering over them, thin and skinny white. It showed its hands that were like claws, the fingers (if you can even call them fingers) had sharp black claws that scratched the floorboards.

What seemed like its mouth stretched wide after the flesh there ripped itself open like scars to reveal a bloody meat underneath with sharp teeth.

It shrieked.

This was the demon.

And the three of them were rooted in the spot while it fed on their fear. This was what led all those incidents in this building. This was what caused all that death and carnage. A demon lurked in the shadows, manipulating people.

They could not move, not even scream.

It was lunging towards them and all they could do was watch in horror.

⛥ s̸̢͍̜̗̊t̵͖̜o̴͉̗̓̊̽́̕ͅp̸̧̩̯̻ ψ

A voice boomed in a language unknown and incomprehensible by man. It came from nowhere. It came from everywhere. This did not pass their ears. This spoke to them directly in their mind, transcending all space and time. It sounded old. It sounded young. It sounded ancient. Far older than time itself. It made your skin prickle and your bones clatter. What they felt was neither fear nor comfort, just the conscious feeling of knowing its existence.

The creature halted just before it can maul them with its large claw and teeth.

⛥ y̶̙̖̔ŏ̵̮͉̺̦̙̾ư̸̖̍̑ ̶̛̯̮͈͔͆̉͆c̶̥͌̓a̶̝̚͠ṅ̵̼͊̇̾n̴͙̾̓̃̕o̵͍̞͚̥̭͂̍t̴̡̜̪̋̈́̇ͅ ̴̱̖̜͑̄̈́ḣ̶̢̙͔̍̍͜ä̷̢͕͙̙́̏̕r̵̻͓̠͖͂̂m̶̲̫̒ ̵̢̻̗̜̓̋t̷̬͔͇̄̂h̶̳̟̟̎̓e̷̛̱̳̐͑̿m̵͙͕̫̝̃͑ ψ

The voice bellowed at the creature. It was neither loud nor soft. It was just.

A thousand pale things like mist laughed and flew away, released from captivity. They shrieked, and giggled, and sobbed, and yelled.

⛥ b̶̛̦̈́e̶̠̫͉̙̺g̸̺͍̼̎͋̚͜͠o̷͎̾̏̋ṇ̶̛̪̝̯̃̑̚͠ ̷͇̼̤͕̈̊̐̅d̶̦͓͍̓e̷̤͘m̸͖̹̗̞̓͜ŏ̴̜̣̬̈́͋̽͠ṋ̴̦̙̲͋ ⛥

The room stretched and narrowed at the same time. The shadows were darker than ever, darker than the night sky and the universe. Time did not exist here, like the voice was bigger than anything, like the room could not contain even a part of this thing. There were eyes everywhere. Infinite number of eyes, dark dots that had no whites in them. They were just eyes. The thing was what dreams and nightmares were made. It tasted like half formed memories, of things forgotten in the corner of your mind, of half baked thoughts and suppressed feelings. It was what was lurking in corners, the thoughts that plague you in the dark, the face that flashes when you are afraid, and what you think of for comfort

⛥Ǐ̸͚̃̾̓̕ ̶̨͙̘͊̽̂͠͠a̷̻̫̟͗̐̕m̵̲̰͊͐͂ ̴͔̎͆̓̍o̴̙̎̀l̵͉̰̱̿̂͛͠d̶̙͊̕e̴̱̤̒̈́r̴͕̺̤̺͈̓͝ ̶̩̂̔̀̀ẗ̷̟͖̺͇h̷̳̤̦͇̒a̴̖̠̘͈͆̆̄̆n̵͍ ̷͇͍̾̽̏͘̚t̸͇̮͠i̶̞̲̮̍̂̐̚m̷̨̯̓̽̋ͅe̴̤̫̭͠.̷̱͋ ̷̢̡̹͕͠Ḯ̸̢̖̝̊̅͘ ̴̣̟̻̈̔̓͛â̷̡̢̻͒̈̚m̶̫̣͙̎̾͂̈́̿ ̶̦̭̳̖̺͝t̷͍̹̀͋͋h̷͖̺͛̈̕e̶͈̻̙̖͊͗̈́̐̍ ̷͚̻͒͘m̵̢͠ą̷̙̱̖̓s̸̫̲͉̫̃t̴̢̲̹̏̚ȩ̴͚͔̃̉̽̽̕r̸͔͚͇̯̈́̍̿̃͠ ̷̡̰̔o̴̖͛̌́̈́̆f̵̧̧̯̬̄̃̓̕ ̶̻̹̠̼̉̀̈͑̓a̴̺͖͊͒̏̓̚l̸̟̭̙̃̃̉l̸̨̺̊̆.̴͕̥͑͒͜͜ ̸̖̫̤̝̻̌I̶͙͙̽̓͜ ̷̖̈́̈́ļ̸̳̖̋̓̋ỉ̴̼͇͇́̈́v̴̤̭̱̄̄e̷̫̯̯͚͑͐̅̾͝ ̵̡̳̞͚̤̾̌̓̏ä̶̢͖̪̤́̑̀ͅt̴̛̩̩̹̠͒ͅ ̷̫͕͋̍̔t̶͙͉͔͌͗̐h̶̡̲͑͜e̵̱̮͑̈̾̂̚ ̶̭͉̆̌̓u̴̳͚̔͘n̷̳̰̈́͋î̸̺̙̃̓n̴̜̯̆̊v̵̡̙̪͙͚̀͐͝ẽ̶̡̗͚̫̣͑͌͋͝r̷̻̀e̵̤̦̞͊ş̵͔̘̿̆̊́'̴̫̜̻̩̱̕ ̵̤͘͝d̷̤̰̭̽ę̸̱̍̽̂a̸̲̳̿̆̎̃̎ͅt̸̥̘̄̊̏͗͝h̴̰̗͙͎̩̔͛̌̅.̶͎̠̩̈̋̂͋͑ ̶͎͔̠̘͌̆̇Y̶̢̡͖͛̀ṓ̷̖͉̼̑̌͒u̵̱̖͔͘͠ͅ ̷͙͉͓͕̪͌̍c̵̨̛̅̿͒ǎ̴͖̖̺͒́ņ̶̰̿̂̈́́͝n̶̞͒́͗͛o̶̬͓͒t̶͕̥͉̑͂ͅ ̶̝͉̃ͅt̶̨̜̰̹͕̏̚ö̵̬͂͊ȗ̴͙c̸͈̥͂̄̽̕h̵̗̖̦̄̄̈́̈́̔ ̴̤̟̩͙̆m̴̡̘͎̳͑̍͋ẽ̸͍̜̹.̸̤͌̉̉͝ ̸̢̮̦͇̈́̕ͅỴ̵̡̫̔͝ǫ̵̲̣̅̾̉͂u̶̢̳͝ ̴͇͈̼̮̾̇͝c̸̨͍͓̹̦̃a̴̞͙̠̽̌͠ͅņ̷̫̞̄ͅn̴̞͔̹̤͌̒̈́̈́͋o̸̘̊̈̕ẗ̷̬͔̩̫́̓ ̷̈́̔͜s̷̲͚͈̘̓͊t̴̨̘̻̰̆̂́ǒ̸͔̮͉̎̑p̷͉͚̪̃̄̀̚ͅͅ ̷͉͋̚m̵̮͐̏̿͒ë̵͙̝̗̪̺̐́̈́͝.̷̫̃͌̚ ̴̡̮͛̍̔̐I̵̦͗̋̀̃̐ ̴̭͇͕̄̊̏̕̕ȧ̷̛͉̀͐͛m̶̯̫̍͐͛̌ ̶͖̪͕͖̇̐̈t̵̨̝̞͒h̵͈͂̆̂̏͂ͅẹ̴̺̈́̏̏͛ ̵̧̤͙̲͆b̸̢͂͛e̷̘̔͆̌̓g̵̬̜͉̼͕̃̊i̷̳̞͍̊͛͆͝ǹ̶̯n̴͍̟̟̞̓̈́̈̍į̷͙̞̬̎̿̈́͆n̶̞̂̍͝g̶͍̹̭̚ ̸̙̍̅̂̕a̸̛͙̽n̶̜̏̇͝ḑ̵͇̈́̑̑ ̸͉̓̾̔I̵͓̔͒͗̿ ̶̙̹̽͛̋͋a̵̰̗͖̙̎̒́͒͜͠m̵̤̘̀͒̈́ ̷̛̜̮̯̼̪̐̄̕t̵͇̤̝̄̓͠h̵̪̮̭͚͂̚͝ě̸͙ ̸̩͐̐̎͋̕e̷̮̝̞͕͊͋̕n̷͎͙̬̝͔͆͌̀̎̏d̶̫͋̈́̋͠.̷̫̜̣̈́̍ ⛥

There was a loud shriek, louder than they’ve ever heard.

And Ash, Shorter and Sing saw light, sure that they saw the beginning of creation, the beginning of everything, of time itself. They saw the unraveling of the universe, of things man was not meant to know, of thing they could not even begin to describe. They were falling. Somewhere. Everywhere. They saw a thousand sunsets and a thousand sunrises. They saw waves swallow cities, kingdoms burned by fire. They saw planets made, they saw stars explode into creation, and they saw their deaths.

They saw the beginning.

And they saw the end.

And through it all, they saw a faceless being that smiled with too many teeth and somehow managed to stare with too many eyes despite not actually having them.

“Better wake up, before you forget too.”

* * *

"Guys? Guys wake up." 

Something shook them awake, voice insistent and pressing. Ash gasped with a start.

"Holy shit I saw it!" He whipped his head around the room, looking for the white creature and the thing. But there was none to be found. Only the four walls of the room where they slept in last night. “The demon? Where did it go?”

"Demon?" Eiji tilted his head, black eyes looking at Ash with concern.

Next to waked up was Shorter who was sweaty and all frantic. He was wide eyed and panting. "Where is it??!"

Sing was the last to wake up and he ended up bursting into sobs. He covered his face and whimpered, chanting ‘no more’ on repeat.

"What are you guys talking about?" Eiji furrowed his brows. He stared at all of them like they were insane. “It was just a dream. A weird dream.”

"That was a really terrifying dream." Shorter scratched his cheek. He swore he could still feel the sensations of that thing. Whatever it was.

"Dumbass, we can't have the same dream! There was obviously something here!" Sing’s face was blotched up and red. He was openly crying already.

"I do not know what you talk about." Eiji continued to stare at them.

"We had--we had this weird ass dream. Something about you getting missing and seeing...whatever that was." Ash clutched as his hair. He tried to remember what he saw, but could not even piece together a single memory. Not even one coherent one. Just a couple of teeth, and lots and lots of eyes.

"It wasn't a dream and you know it!" Sing wailed, slowly wiping the wetness from his face.

"Missing? I was here sound asleep the whole night. You boys were sleeping really deep as well. It is almost noon now." Eiji hummed.

"Are you sure?"

Eiji affirmed without hesitation. "Yes."

"Maybe it _was_ a dream." Shorter wondered out loud.

Sing’s voice was cracked, his nose blocked by his snot. "I still think this place is haunted, man."

Ash nodded to himself, having calmed down. "It is a weird place. But I'm sure there's an actual explanation to it. A scientific one and a logical one." Yes, logical one. There was a psychological explanation to it.

Eiji shrugged and pasted on his signature smile. "Come on. All of you must be exhausted. Let us go home."

Everyone found this to be a good idea. They packed their stuff up, vowing silently never to do something like that again.

But Sing looked back at the building, and incidentally at Eiji.

He was smiling wide. Too wide. One with too many teeth, and too wide a mouth. His eyes were dark and had no whites left in them. They slid towards Sing, and pushed a single finger and a zipping gesture.

Sing blinked and it was all gone in a flash.

"...Eiji?!"

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah....what was that about? lmao anyway poor Sing. He was straight up not having a good time 🤣


End file.
